MILWAUKEE - The Marquette University women's lacrosse team returns home for a challenging match-up against a top-10 nationally-ranked opponent in the University of Florida, which invades Valley Fields for a Wednesday morning first draw scheduled for 11:30 Central time.

Live statistics (GameTracker) will be available courtesy of GoMarquette.com.

Florida comes in as winners of five-straight games and is off to a 3-0 start in league play in its first season as a member of the BIG EAST Conference. Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles are looking to snap a three-game losing skid and pick up their first conference win, which would also mark their first-ever win over a ranked opponent.

Marquette drew first blood against UConn last time out, scoring the game's first goal and playing the hosts to a 2-2 score early on. However, the Husky offense came alive and closed out the first half with five-straight goals en route to a 6-0 run and never looked back.

The Golden Eagles were never able to get the deficit under four goals as UConn proved too tough at both ends of the field. Senior attacker Nicole Gleason scored for the fourth-straight game, leading Marquette with her first hat trick of the season to give her 15 goals on the year.

Defensively, MU recorded a season-high 19 caused turnovers as UConn committed 27 miscues as a team. Jenaye Coleman and Fran Meyer each caused four to lead the team.

On Wednesday, the Golden Eagles will go up against another well-rounded foe in Florida, which ranks atop the BIG EAST in fewest goals allowed (8.69). Offensively, the Gators rank first in the BIG EAST and third-nationally in scoring offense (15.38), while coming in sixth in the nation in scoring margin (+6.69).

Senior attacker Shannon Gilroy leads 10 Gators with double-digit points this season and the nation with a whopping 65 points on 48 goals and 17 assists through 13 games.

Wednesday's meeting will mark the first-ever between the Golden Eagles and Gators.

Following Wednesday's contest, Marquette will travel to Western Pennsylvania to take on Temple University in another crucial BIG EAST Conference tilt Saturday, April 11, at 11 a.m. Central time.

LAST TIME OUT· Nicole Gleason got Marquette on the board at the outset against conference-unbeaten UConn last Saturday afternoon, putting the Golden Eagles up 1-0 just 2:28 into the game. The Huskies would score twice after that to gain the lead before Julianna Shearer tied the score at 2-2. UConn would then use a 6-0 run to take a commanding lead that proved insurmountable as the hosts ran away with a 13-8 victory.· The last five goals of UConn's six-goal run were scored during a stretch spanning 8:18. From then on, Marquette outscored the Huskies, 6-5.· Gleason finished with her first hat trick of the season and currently has 15 goals on the season, which ranks second only to Claire Costanza's 17. Shearer finished with two goals as well for the Blue and Gold, while Taylor Smith, Hayley Baas and Riley Hill each recorded a goal.· Defensively, MU caused 19 turnovers - a season high - as UConn committed 27 as a team. Jenaye Coleman and Fran Meyer each registered four caused turnovers apiece to lead MU.

SCOUTING FLORIDA· The Gators are in their sixth season as a program and recently captured their 90th all-time victory following an 18-4 win over Georgetown on Saturday. A perennial powerhouse, Florida ranks in the top-nine in both major polls and is seeking its sixth win-in-a-row on Wednesday.· Shannon Gilroy paces a potent Gator offense that ranks third-nationally with 15.38 goals per game. Gilroy's 65 points (48g, 17a) is tops in the nation and her 230 career goals so far ranks 16th all-time in the NCAA record books. She is the only threat for the Gators as six scorers have recorded 21 or more points this season. Mollie Stevens is second on the team with 32 points (28g, 4a), while Nicole Graziano ranks third with 26 points (17g, 9a).· Defensively, Florida leads the BIG EAST in allowing just 8.69 goals per game. Part of that has to do with UF's possession game, as they rank first in the conference and 11th-nationally with 14.15 draw controls per game. Another reason for their exceptional defense has been the play of goalie Mary-Sean Wilcox, who has compiled a 9-4 record in net with a 9.05 goals against average and .416 save percentage.

SERIES HISTORY· Wednesday will mark the first meeting all-time between Marquette and Florida.· Both teams have one common opponent thus far this season in Michigan. Florida defeated U-M at home, 21-0, back on Feb. 14, while the Golden Eagles dropped a close one to the Wolverines, 10-7, at home back on March 20.

WINNING PREDICATED ON DEFENSE· When the Marquette defensive unit is at its best, it has translated into wins on the field. When allowing fewer than 10 goals this season, MU carries a 4-1 record. In 2014, the Golden Eagles sported a 4-0 mark when holding opponents under 10 goals. Conversely, MU is 0-7 this year when allowing 10 goals or more.· Marquette ranks second in the BIG EAST and 10th-nationally in caused turnovers, forcing 10.00 miscues per game. Individually, Elizabeth Goslee (1.58) and Fran Meyer (1.25) rank fifth and 11th, respectively, in the BIG EAST in caused turnovers per game.

COSTANZA PASSES THE CENTURY MARK· Junior attacker Claire Costanza became the first Marquette player in program history to surpass 100 career points when she registered a career-high 10 points in the 15-4 win over St. Mary's. The Webster, New York native has 122 career points on 56 goals and 66 assists.· Through 12 contests this season, she has totaled eight multi-point games and leads the team with 39 points, good for second in the BIG EAST. Her 22 assists also rank second in the conference and 14th-nationally.

MU SUPPORTS PANCREATIC CANCER ACTION NETWORK· The Golden Eagles have been active supporters of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and its fight against pancreatic cancer over the past two years and will host their third annual Pan Can game on Saturday, April 18, at 5 p.m. against Georgetown at Hart Park in Wauwatosa as part of a doubleheader with the men. Marquette raised over $10,000 in support of the fight against pancreatic cancer last season and has raised over $12,000 in 2015. Further information on the disease and the organization can be found at http://www.pancan.org/.· Make your voice heard and donate today by clicking here: http://go.mu.edu/MUWLAXPanCan